Columbus High is excited to announce the hiring of Coach Christopher Sander as the new Head Coach of the Discoverers Boys and Girls Cross Country Program. Chris takes over for Stacy Smith who is retiring from teaching and coaching effective at the end of the school year.
Chris started his teaching and coaching career at Chase County High School where he taught
math and coached football, girls basketball, and track. In 2013 Coach Sander was hired as a
math teacher with Columbus Public Schools. While with Columbus Public Schools, Chris has
coached middle school and high school track and field, high school football, and high school
cross country.
“A few years ago I had the opportunity to hire Chris as an assistant cross country coach and I’ve
been thoroughly impressed with his work ethic, passion for coaching, and his ability to connect
with our student-athletes,” Director of CHS Athletics and Activities Tim Kwapnioski said. “Over
the years Discoverer cross country has had its share of quality distance runners. Coach Sander
is all about serving student-athletes through quality coaching, leadership, and energetic
motivation. We look forward to his official start this summer and the impact he will have on the
cross country program.”
From Coach Sander:
“I am grateful for the opportunity to lead the Discoverer Cross Country team. While we lose a
great group of senior boys we will still be very experienced next year. We return every girl from
last year’s squad and half of the boys varsity team with some guys ready to step in and fill the
spots needed. I am excited to continue the great things Coach Smith had going on the past few
seasons and look forward to building on the historical success of the program. I thank Mr.
Kwapnioski for the trust to lead the program and Coach Smith for her mentorship over the
years."